Bucket cleaners for end-loading excavators



Oct. 28, 1958 D. METTETAL, JR 2,858,035

BUCKET CLEANERS FOR END-LOADING EXCAVATORS Filed May 14, 1956 V 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Donald Mettetezl Jr.

95 D. METTETAL, JR 2,858,035

BUCKET CLEANERS FOR END-LOADING EXCAVATORS Filed May 14, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 C Donald Meitetal, Jr:

Oct. 28, 1958 D. METTETAL, JR

BUCKET CLEANERS FOR END-LOADING EXCAVATORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 14, 1956 Donald Meiieial Jr.

United States Patent O BUCKET CLEANERS FOR END-LOADING EXCAVATORS Donald Mettetal, Jr., Rockford, Ill.

Application May 14, 1956, Serial No. 584,796

22 Claims. (Cl. 214-510) This invention relates to new and improved automatic bucket cleaners especially designed and adapted for use on but not necessarily limited to end-loading, high-lift excavators.

In excavating gummy clay, known as gumbo, the high-lift bucket accumulates clay to the extent that there is a loss of as much as 35% in operating efliciency unless the clay is cleaned out in each dumping of the bucket. To do this by hand with a shovel or other suitable means would necessitate the services of an extra workman in addition to the machine operator, which would make the labor cost prohibitive, besides slowing up the operation of the machine and accordingly reducing the amount of work output per day. I am aware that this problem has received considerable attention in the past and a number of patents have been issued on automatic bucket cleaners, but, so far as I am aware, all of the earlier designs have been objectionable for one reason or another, so that the manufacturers of excavating equipment have still not found what they would consider to be a truly commercially suitable bucket cleaner. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a bucket cleaner that avoids, so far as possible, the following objections that have been raised to earlier designs:

(1) With earlier designs, if some part of the bucket cleaner failed or was broken, the excavator was put out of commission until that part was fixed or replaced;

(2) The machine was also apt to be laid up if a bearing on some part of the bucket cleaner wore out and needed replacement, because the bearings were not of the same type already commonly used on other parts of the excavator;

(3) Previous designs of bucket cleaners added considerable weight and bulk to the bucket and interfered too much with the freedom of manipulation of the bucket, and

(4) Previous designs were generally too complicated and expensive and not readily applicable, if applicable at all, to conventional buckets.

In the bucket cleaner of my invention, the cleaning blade that is movable in an are relative to the back wall of the bucket on the inside thereof has two arms on its opposite ends pivoted with respect to the opposite end walls of the bucket, and are operated by links connected with spring actuated arms that are pivoted with respect to the back wall of the bucket on the outside, the links being extended through slots in the back wall of the bucket for pivotal connection with the free ends of these arms. In that way, there is a minimum amount of encumbrance t the bucket and the application of the cleaner to conventional buckets is fairly simple. To operate the arms on the back of the bucket, I may use torsion bars but provide preferably heavy and powerful coiled torsion springs suitably mounted on the back of the bucket and connected at one end to the aforesaid arms and at the other end to levers that are pivoted with respect to the back wall of the bucket and are connected by means of links with Patented Oct. 28, 1958 ICC the booms in closely spaced relation to the bearings provided on the front ends of the booms for pivotally mounting the bucket thereon. The location of these pivotal connections and their spacing with respect to the bucket pivots are such that the bucket after loading may be tilted to the rear without affecting the bucket cleaner, and the bucket may then be hoisted with the booms to the dumping level, still with only little effect on the bucket cleaner due to the small extent of shift in relationship of the various parts in this operation, but the bucket cleaner blade is assured of its full movement in the dumping of the bucket to insure a good cleaning action. The construction of the present bucket cleaner is also advantageous from the standpoint that in the loading of the bucket it is frequently desirable to oscillate the bucket on its pivots in order to crowd as much dirt and debris into the bucket as possible in one loading, and with my bucket cleaner there is nothing to interfere with this freedom of manipulation of the bucket.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side view of what is commonly known as an end-loader, the bucket of which is equipped with a cleaner made in accordance with my invention, this view showing the bucket in full lines in loading position and in dotted lines tilted back preparatory to its being hoisted;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the bucket and booms in the high-lift position showing the bucket in full lines in dumping position and in dotted lines in the high-lift position, this view having associated with it in Fig. 1 a corresponding dotted line position of the booms, so that Fig. 2 may be more readily understood by reference to some extent to Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are larger side views of the bucket corresponding to the positions of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a section generally on the line 55 of Fig. 3, showing the powerful torsion spring and its operating connections with the boom operated lever at one end and the spring actuated arm at the other end, and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a modified or alternative construction in which a torsion bar is used instead of the coiled torsion spring.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 7 designates a tractor having rear traction wheels (not shown) and the usual front steering wheels 8, the rear wheels being driven through suitable transmission gearing from the engine on the frame of the tractor, this engine also driving an oil pump (not shown) delivering oil under pressure selectively to either end of a pair of cylinders 9 operatively connected at 10 with a pair of booms 11 for raising and lowering the bucket 12, the booms being pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the frame of the tractor at their rear ends, as at 13, and pivotally connected at their front ends, as at 14, to the opposite ends of the bucket adjacent the bottom thereof. A pair of pistons 15 work in the cylinders 9 and are pivotally connected to the frame of the tractor, as at 16. For tilting the bucket 12 to the rear on pivots 14 preliminary to hoisting it, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, and also for later tilting the bucket forwardly for dumping, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, links 17 are pivotally connected at one end to the back of the bucket at 18 and extend rearwardly and have pivotal connection at their rear ends, as at 19, to the lower end of rocker arms 20 that are pivotally mounted intermediate their ends at 21 on the booms 11 and have pivotal connection at their upper ends as at 22 with the front ends of pistons 23 that work in cylinders 24 pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the frame of the tractor, as indicated at 25. Oil under pressure is delivered through flexible tubes to either end of the cylinders 9 and 24 under control of the operator, a separate control valve being provided in connection with each of these cylinders. In the filling of the bucket, it is frequently advantageous to rock it back and forth on its pivots 14 during its forward movement and such operation is, of course, obtained by short reciprocation of the pistons 23.

The bucket cleaner of my invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 26 in Figs. 1 to 5, a modified form being shown at 26' in Fig. 6, wherein the only change is the elimination of the heavy, powerful, coiled torsion springs 27, of which two are provided, one at each end of the bucket cleaner encircling a shaft 28 through which the spring torque is delivered to the spring actuated arm 29 pivotally connected at its outer end, as at 30, to the rear end of the link 31 that extends forwardly through a slot 32 provided in the back wall 33 of the bucket for pivotal connection at its forward end, as at 34, to the outer end of an arm 35 that is connected at its inner end to one end of the cleaning blade 36. Two arms 35 are provided at opposite ends of the blade 36 and they are pivoted intermediate their ends on a common axis, as at 37, on the opposite end walls 38 of the bucket on the inner sides thereof. The slots 32 are just long enough to accommodate the wider outer end portions of the links 31 so that no spilling will occur through these slots. By tapering the links forwardly, as shown, enough clearance is assured in the slots for their easy operation in dumping the bucket.

In the modification (Fig. 6), the shaft 28 serves as a torsion bar for torsion spring actuation of the arm 29. Such bars can be used if they can be provided of sufiicient length to give the blade travel required, and, of course, that depends upon whether enough room can be provided on the bucket, which means that only the greater length buckets can use such torsion bars. Others of shorter length must use the coiled torsion springs. The lever 39, which, in the preferred form of Figs. 1 to 5, loads the spring 27 by oscillation through a predetermined angle relative to the shaft 28, to which the lever 40 connected to the other end of the spring 27 is keyed, as indicated at 41, has a counterpart in the modified form (Fig. 6) in a lever 39' that is keyed to one end of the shaft 28', as indicated at 42. This lever 39' is adapted to apply twist to the shaft 28' which serves as a torsion bar, the other end of the shaft being keyed, as at 43, the same as in Fig. 5, to the spring actuated arm 29. If the lever 39 requires a greater angularity of movement than lever 39, lever 39' will be provided of a shorter length, and vice versa, assuming the same means is employed for oscillating the lever, as is shown connected with lever 39 in Figs. 1 to 5. In passing, there is shown in Fig. a projection 44 on one side of lever 39 connected with one end 45 of the spring 27 to apply torque thereto, the other end 46 of the spring having abutment with a projection 47 on the lever 40 which transmits the torque to the shaft 28 through key 41 and thence through key 43 to the spring actuated arm 29.

Associated with each of the two levers 39 at the opposite ends of the bucket 12 is a link 48 pivotally connected at one end, as at 49, to the lever 39 and pivotally connected at its other end, as at 50, to the boom 11 at a predetermined distance radially from the bucket pivot 14, the location and radial displacement with respect to the pivot 14 being such that the bucket 12 may be tilted to the rear from its loading position, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, without any effect on the blade 36 or springs 27. Operators appreciate this advantage in the manipulation of the bucket, especially when it comes to rocking the bucket back and forth in its forward thrust, such operation being quite commonly used to enable crowding more dirt into the bucket per operation than could be done with a simple straight forward thrust.

Without thereby implying any limitation on this invention but only to enable a better understanding of the invention, I might state that in one application of the invention, when the bucket reaches the high-lift position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, there is approximately 25 loading of springs 27 by levers 39, which in that application is equivalent to about 32,500-inch pounds torque and in the case of a blade 36 about inches long is equivalent to about 4000 pounds forward thrust on the blade 36. In Fig. 2 the blade 36 in the dotted line position of the bucket is shown still in approximately the same position as in Fig. 1, on the assumption that the bucket contains heavy gumbo that interferes sufficiently with the movement of the blade to have all of the torque just mentioned absorbed in the loading of the springs 27. However, when the bucket is tilted forwardly for dumping, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the levers 39 are swung further in a counterclockwise direction enough to reach the limit of winding of springs 27 and cause positive movement of the blade. The blade moves through approximately 90, as shown in Fig. 2, to cut through the gumbo and insure its being dumped with the rest of the load.

In operation, the bucket cleaner 26 or 26' of my invention, by keeping the bucket 12 clear of gumbo, keeps it operating always at peak efiiciency, and, as a result, there is much less waste of costly fuel in the running of the excavator. For instance, a dirty bucket cannot possibly be crowded into a pile of dirt as easily as a clean bucket and operators are quick to appreciate this fully by noting that there is less tendency for the traction wheels to skid in the crowding of the bucket forwardly into the dirt. The actuation of the bucket cleaner 26 (or 26') by links 48 connected to the booms 11 is advantageous from the standpoint that the booms are generally of sufficiently massive size to assume the heavy wear and tear of bucket operation and there is therefore no danger of deformation of these parts by overloading thereof in the repeated operations of the bucket cleaner, as there might be if the load was assumed by the dump arms 20, for example. Also, the location of the forward ends of the booms behind the bucket is ideal and the location of their pivots 14 is most advantageous for connection of the bucket cleaner at those points from the standpoint of avoiding likelihood of damage being done to any parts of the bucket cleaner in the normal operation of the excavator. The bearings at 30, 34, 37, 49 and 50 are all preferably of a size and specifications similar to those provided on the machine at 18, 19, 21 and 22, so that replacement of a worn out bearing is expedited and the bucket cleaner need not stay out of commission very long on that account. Should any part of the present bucket cleaner 26 or 26 get broken or worn out, there is nothing to interfere with operating the bucket without the cleaner in operation until such time as it can be fixed. A shoe 51 is provided as a part of the machine in connection with each of the booms 11 for the two-fold purpose of protecting the boom from contact with rocks and other things that might damage the same, as well as for support of the booms when the loaded bucket is tilted to the rear preparatory to hoisting. The shoes 51 are pivoted as at 52 at their forward ends and have upwardly projecting side walls 53 which are disposed on opposite sides of the booms and also serve to enclose the links 48 when the bucket is tilted to the rear, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, so that there will be no danger of damage being done to the cleaner actuating parts by contact with the ground and any rocks and other debris where the shovel is being operated. These shoes 51 hang downwardly when the bucket is in the high-lift position shown in Fig. 4, and their inclined rear end portions 54 serv by skidding contact with the ground to position the shoes automatically when they are lowered with the bucket.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In an excavator, the combination of boom means operatively carried on a mobile power unit and pivotally attached to a bucket to operate it and hoist it, dump means operatively carried by said unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid pivot to tilt said bucket rearwardly preliminary to the hoisting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a pivoted member on said bucket having a dirt scraping blade attached thereto operable in an arc in the bucket, and intermediate drive means connecting said pivoted member to said boom means to rotate the scraper blade through a predetermined arc in the bucket in the forward tipping of the latter relative to the boom means for dumping, said intermediate drive means carried on the back of the bucket and including torsion spring means arranged to be twisted in the forward tipping of the bucket relative to said boom means, whereby the bucket may be tipped rearwardly intermittently during loading of the bucket Without interference by said torsion spring means and said torsion spring means is adapted to store torque therein if the blade cannot move immediately due to contact with difficult to cut material in the bucket as the bucket is tipped forwardly for dumping.

2. In an excavator, the combination of a boom operatively carried by a mobile power unit and pivotally connected to a bucket to operate it and raise it, dump means operatively carried by said power unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid pivot to tilt said bucket rearwardly on the boom preparatory to the lifting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a pivoted member on the bucket having a dirt scraper blade attached thereto and operable in an arc in the bucket, an arm pivoted on the back of the bucket and pivotally connected at its free end by means of a link to the aforesaid pivoted member, spring means for oscillating said arm, a lever pivoted on the back of the bucket to load said spring means for operation of said scraper blade by oscillation of said lever relative to said bucket, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the free end of said lever to oscillate it and pivotally connected at its other end to said boom in spaced relation toits pivotal connection with the bucket.

3. An excavator as set forth in claim 2 wherein the pivoted member operating the dirt scraper blade is disposed inside the bucket and the link pivotally connected to the arm pivoted on the back of the bucket extends through a slot provided therefor in the back wall of the bucket for connection with the pivoted member in said bucket.

4. An excavator as set forth in claim 2 wherein the pivoted member operating the dirt scraper blade is disposed inside the bucket and the link pivotally connected to the arm pivoted on the back of the bucket extends through a slot provided therefor in the back wall of the bucket for connection with the pivoted member in said bucket, said link being tapered and being wider at its rear end and narrowing forwardly and the slot therefor being only long enough to accommodate the wider rear end portion of the link in the loading position on the bucket, said slot providing ample operating clearance for the narrower forward portion of the link in the operation of the scraper blade.

5. An excavator as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spring means comprises a torsion spring, one end of which is operatively connected with said lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is opera- 6 tively connected with said arm for spring actuation thereof.

6. An excavator as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spring means comprises a torsion spring, one end of which is operatively connected with said lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected wtih said arm for spring actuation thereof, the pivotal connection of the last mentioned link with said boom being so located that said torsion spring is loaded only when said bucket is tilted forwardly for dumping, whereby rearward tipping of the bucket intermittently in loading is permitted without interference by said torsion spring.

7. An excavator as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spring means comprises a torsion bar, one end of which is operatively connected with said lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected with said arm for spring actuation thereof.

8. In an excavator, the combination of a boom operatively carried by a mobile power unit and pivotally connected to a bucket to operate it and raise it, dump means operatively carried by said power unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid pivot to tilt said bucket rearwardly on the boom preparatory to the lifting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a pivoted member on the bucket having a dirt scraper blade attached thereto and operable in an arc in the bucket, an arm pivoted on the back of the bucket and pivotally connected at its free end by means of a link to the aforesaid pivoted member, and means operatively connected with said arm for oscillating it and pivotally connected to said boom in spaced relation to its pivotal connection with the bucket, whereby to operate said blade when the bucket is tilted forwardly relative to the boom for dumping, the pivoted member operating the dirt scraper blade being disposed inside the bucket and the link pivotally connected to the arm pivoted on the back of the bucket extending through a slot provided therefor in the back wall of the bucket for connection with the pivoted member in said bucket.

9. In an excavator, the combination of a boom operatively carried by a mobile power unit and pivotally connected to a bucket to operate it and raise it, dump means operatively carried by said power unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid pivot to tilt said bucket rearwardly on the boom preparatory to the lifting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a pivoted member on the bucket having a dirt scraper blade attached thereto and operable in an arc in the bucket, an arm pivoted on the back of the bucket and pivotally connected at its free end by means of a link to the aforesaid pivoted member, and means operatively connected with said arm for oscillating it and pivotally connected to said boom in spaced relation to its pivotal connection with the bucket, whereby to operate said blade when the bucket is tilted forwardly relative to the boom for dumping, the pivoted member operating the dirt scraper blade being disposed inside the bucket and the link pivotally connected to the arm pivoted on the back of the bucket extending through a slot provided therefor in the back wall of the bucket for connection with the pivoted member in said bucket, said link being tapered and being wider at its rear end and narrowing forwardly and the slot therefor being only long enough to accommodate the wider rear end portion of the link in the loading position of the bucket, said slot providing ample operating clearance for the narrower forward portion of the link in the operation of the scraper blade.

10. In an excavator, the combination of an elongated bucket, a pair of laterally spaced booms operatively carried by a mobile power unit and pivotally connected on a common axis to the bucket at laterally spaced points to operate it and raise it, dump means operatively carried by said power unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid axis to tilt said bucket rearwardly on the booms preparatory to the lifting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a dirt scraper blade operable in an arc in the bucket and carried at its opposite ends on two members pivoted on the opposite ends of the bucket, two arms pivoted on the back of the bucket at its opposite ends and pivotally connected at their free ends by means of links to the aforesaid pivoted members, and means operatively connected with said arms for oscillating the same and pivotally connected to said booms in spaced relation to their pivotal connections with the bucket, whereby to operate said blade when the bucket is tilted forwardly relative to the booms for dumping.

11. An excavator as set forth in claim 10 wherein the links connecting said arms with said pivoted members extend through slots provided in the back wall of the bucket.

12. An excavator as set forth in claim 10 wherein the links connecting said arms with said pivoted members extend through slots provided in the back wall of the bucket, said links being tapered and being wider attheir rear ends and narrowing forwardly, and said slots being only long enough to accommodate the rear end portions of the links in the loading position of the bucket, said slots providing ample operating clearance for the narrower forward portions of the links in the operation of the scraper blade.

13. In an excavator, the combination of an elongated bucket, a pair of laterally spaced booms operatively carried by a mobile power unit and pivotally connected on a common axis to the bucket at laterally spaced points to operate it and raise it, dump means operatively carried by said power unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid axis to tilt said bucket rearwardly on the booms preparatory to the lifting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a dirt scraper blade operable in an arc in the bucket and carried at its opposite ends on two members pivoted on the opposite ends of the bucket, two arms pivoted on the back of the bucket at its opposite ends and pivotally connected at their free ends by means of links to the aforesaid pivoted members, spring means at opposite ends of the bucket for oscillating said blade operating arms, levers for loading said spring means pivoted on the back of the bucket at opposite ends, and links pivotally connected at one end to the free end of said levers to oscillate the same and pivotally connected at their other end to said booms in spaced relation to their pivotal connection with the bucket.

14. An excavator as set forth in claim 13 wherein each spring means comprises a torsion spring, one end of which is operatively connected with the associated lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected with the associated arm for spring actuation thereof.

15. An excavator as set forth in claim 13 wherein each spring means comprises a torsion bar, one end of which is operatively connected with the associated lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected with the associated arm for spring actuation thereof.

16. An excavator as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spring means comprises a torsion bar, one end of which is operatively connected with said lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected with said arm for spring actuation thereof, the pivotal connection of the last mentioned link with said boom being so located that said torsion bar is loaded only when said bucket is tilted forwardly for dumping, whereby rearward tipping of the bucket intermittently in loading is permitted without interference by said torsion bar.

17. In combination, a bucket of the kind described, a pivoted member on thebucket having a dirt scraper blade attached thereto and operable in an arc in the bucket, an arm pivoted on the back of the bucket and pivotally connected at its free end by means of a link to the aforesaid pivoted member, spring means for oscillating said arm, a lever pivoted on the back of the bucket to load said spring means for operation of said scraper blade by oscillation of said lever relative to said bucket, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the free end of said lever to oscillate it, said link being adapted to be pivotally connected at its other end to an operating means.

18. The combination set forth in claim 17 wherein the pivoted member operating the dirt scraper blade is disposed inside the bucket and the link pivotally connected to the arm pivoted on the back of the bucket extends through a slot provided therefor in the back wall of the bucket for connection with the pivoted member in said bucket.

19. The combination set forth in claim 17 wherein the pivoted member operating the dirt scraper blade is disposed inside the bucket and the link pivotally connected to the arm pivoted on the back of the bucket extends through a slot provided therefor in the back wall of the bucket for connection with the pivoted member in said bucket, said link being tapered and being wider at its rear end and narrowing forwardly and the slot therefor being only long enough to accommodate the wider rear end portion of the link in the loading position of the bucket, said slot providing ample operating clearance for the narrower forward portion of the link in the operation of the scraper blade.

20. The combination set forth in claim 17 wherein the spring means comprises a torsion spring, one end of which is operatively connected with said lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected with said arm for spring actuation thereof.

21. The combination set forth in claim 17 wherein the spring means comprises a torsion bar, one end of which is operatively connected with said lever for loading of the spring and the other end of which is operatively connected with said arm for spring actuation thereof.

22. In an excavator, the combination of boom means operatively carried on a mobile power unit and pivotally attached to a bucket to operate it and hoist it, dump means operatively carried by said unit and pivotally connected to said bucket in radially spaced relation to the aforesaid pivot to tilt said bucket rearwardly preliminary to the hoisting thereof and forwardly for dumping it, a pivoted member on said bucket having a dirt scraping blade attached thereto operable in an arc in the bucket, and intermediate drive means connecting said pivoted member to said boom means to rotate the scraper blade through a predetermined arc in the bucket in the forward tipping of the latter relative to the boom means for dumping, said intermediate drive means including torsion bar spring means carried on the back of the bucket and arranged to be twisted in the forward tipping of the bucket relative to said boom means, whereby the bucket may be tipped rearwardly intermittently during loading of the bucket without interference by said torsion bar spring means and said torsion bar spring means is adapted to store torque therein if the blade cannot move immediately due to contact with difiicult to cut material in the bucket as the bucket is tipped forwardly for dumping.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,683,542 Baker July 13, 1954 

